Obama taps NYC health commissioner to head CDC

NEW YORK (AP) _ President Barack Obama on Friday will name Dr. Thomas Frieden as director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administration officials told The New York Times.

Health experts say the CDC needs to make immediate improvements in employee morale and organization as the Obama administration works to overhaul the national health care system.

"I think the administration selected Tom Frieden because he can take public health to a new place," Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit public health advocacy organization, told The Times. "He's a transformational leader."